Visit ourwebsite to learn more about this Kennedy Center initiative to ensure equal access to an arts education for Any Given Child

First Friday Gallery Walk

The next First Friday is March 4, 2016, from 5-8 pm. Visit here for the most up-to-date information about gallery exhibit openings and other events

Missoula Events

Plan your annual events a year in advance!
The
Missoula Cultural Council, the
City of Missoula, and
MissoulaEvents.net have teamed up to bring you
Missoula's long-range event planning calendar. Visit
here to list your event.

Did you know that the Missoula Cultural Council maintains a public database on our website of visual and performing artists as well as galleries, art organizations and cultural venues in Western Montana?

Visit the Directory page of our website and follow instructions to get registered to update all your information.

Art & Economy

Missoula's art and cultural nonprofits are collectively a $39.9 million industry. Learn more here.

ArtPlace America, an organization based in Brooklyn, NY, is a 10-year project that is a partnership of foundations, banks, and federal agencies that support creative placemaking initiatives. A representative from ArtPlace America will be visiting Missoula this Tuesday, February 16, and will hold an information session from 5:00-7:00 p.m. at the Doubletree. For more information, call the MCC office at 541-0860.

TheMissoula Art Museum p
resents Terrain: Plateau Native Art & Poetry through February 27, 2016;
John Buck: Free for All through March 12 (pictured here);
Good Wood: Carved And Cut From MAM's Permanent Collection through March 12.

The Montana Museum of Art & Culture presents Glorious Vista: Art of the American West from the MMAC Permanent Collection through February 20 in the Paxson and Meloy Galleries from now through February 20. This exhibition explores the landscapes and people of the Rocky Mountain West during the 19th and 20th centuries, including works by Edgar Paxson, Joseph Henry Sharp, Charles M. Russell, Ace Powell, Julius Seyler, Nancy McLaughlin, and George Catlin. On Tuesday, February 16 from 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. in teh Montana Theatre, MMAC presents "Nature and Culture in the Northern Rocky Mountains" a lecture by Michael Duchemin, Executive Director of the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls. On Thursday, February 18, at 5:30 p.m., there will be a Public Docent Tour for this exhibit. Meet in the PARTV Center Lobby.

It's Oscar Season at The Roxy! There's a full lineup of Oscar® contenders, as well as special one-off screenings, festivals and events at the Roxy this month. Visit here for more.

The first of the University of Montana's spring 2016 Noon Diversity ForUMs will take place from noon to 1:00 p.m. Wednesday, February 17, in the Mike and Maureen Mansfield Center Conference Room in the Mansfield Library. The forums are free and open to the public, and attendees are welcome to bring a lunch. The February forum, "Cultural Diversity at UM - Issues, Interactions and Expectations," will be moderated by Udo Fluck, cross-cultural researcher, curriculum developer and instructor. Fluck, who was born in Germany, will talk about identity and diversity as it relates to UM.

The Gallery of Visual Arts at the University of Montana presents What Lay Before - What Lay After, sculpture and paintings of Francis Paul Pearson, now through March 3.

The
University Center Gallery presents
"The Inevitable Comparison" now through February 25. Artist
Alissa Wynne's work features stretched garments that comment on rebellion and upbringing. Call 243-5555.

The
Mansfield Center at the University of Montana has announced its
Spring 2016 Brown Bag Lecture Series for the community. The lectures reflect the center's mission to promote an understanding of Asia, public affairs and ethics. Topics of this semester's lectures include wildlife conservation in Southeast Asia, renewable energy and human health, and the connections between language and culture. All sessions will be held from 12:10 to 1:00 p.m. The lectures are free and open to the public. The next in teh series occurs Tuesday, February 16, in University Center Room 332:
"Environmental Conservation Projects in Vietnam," with
Marilyn Marler, natural areas specialist, UM Division of Biological Sciences, and
Sarah Bates, deputy director, Northern Rockies, Prairies and Pacific Region of the National Wildlife Federation. This even is free.

Radius Gallery p
resents your last chance to see the featured works of Lucy Capehart, Randi O'Brien, and Stephen Glueckert, as well as the newest works from our represented artists. This exhibit ends February 20. In addition to playing with some kinetic sculptures, admiring the most contemporary pelicans you've ever seen, and getting chills at the exquisite cyanotypes, check out our wall of small works, perfect for a gift or a smaller intimate space. Whether you're a new collector or have so much art you don't know what to do with it, these little works are your cup of tea. IMAGE: "My Mother's Slip II" by Lucy Capehart.

For three Thursday nights in February, Free Cycles will be converted from a bike shop into an art studio for the Riverfront Neighborhood Art Night. You are invited to join a class hosted by a guest artist or bring your own materials for projects you work on in the creative company of others. Riverfront Art Nights continue February 18 and 25 from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. Attend one or all three. There will be supplies for the first 24 people. You can reserve a place by emailing here or just show up and take your chances. Free Cycles is located at 732 South First West.

Registration now open for January-March 2016
Art Workshops with local artist
Nancy Seiler. New this winter is
Nature Journaling Series. Learn to draw and paint different natural history topics and be ready to go outside this spring with your nature journal to record what you see with more confidence. All workshops are located at 330 Brooks St. in Missoula (one block east of Caffé Dolce). Classes are limited to 10.
To sign up, please email here or call 370-1254.

Zootown Arts Community Center will celebrate small things with its
4th Annual {mini} Show Benefit at Missoula's newly renovated historic Wilma Theater on March 26. This gala event will bring together Missoula's creative community to celebrate all things mini, from mini dessert auction, a mini silent and live art auction, and more! The Mini Show art opening will occur in the ZACC gallery on March 11. This is an annual fundraiser for the Zootown Arts Community Center. For more information, visit
here.

The
Art Associates of Missoula monthly meeting will be held this Wednesday, February 17, at 10:00 a.m. in the Education Center of the Missoula Art Museum, 335 N. Pattee St, Missoula. Botanical illustrator and painter
Nancy Seiler will be sharing her art and inspirational designs. Art Associates meetings are free and open to the public. For more information please call Susie at 544-0891.

The
University of Montana Creative Writing Program graduate student
Alida Dean of Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts, is the recipient of this year's
Merriam-Frontier Award. Dean will read her award-winning submission at 4:10 p.m. Friday, February 19, in the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library Theta Rho Room. The reading is free and open to the public. For more information call Karin at 243-5267.

The world premiere of the
Missoula Children's Theatre production of
The Snow Queen will take place February 20 and 21 at the
MCT Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets are available
here, by calling 728-7529 or at MCT's Box Office.

DalyJazz presents
Ryan Keberle, featured in
Jazz Times last year as "One of 5 Trombonists You Need to Know," with his Montana edition of
Catharsis: Mike Rodriguez (trumpet),
Camila Veza (vocals),
Craig Hall (bass), and
Caleb VanGelder (drums) for two nights, Saturday and Sunday, February 20-21. Suggested donation $25. To RSVP email
here

The
Montana World Affairs Council's 12th Annual Statewide High School Academic WorldQuest Competition, with the Winning Team to Represent Montana in Washington, D.C., is February 23, in the UC Ballroom, 3rd Floor University Center. Call 728-3328, or visit
here

Poet
Stefania Heim, the
University of Montana Creative Writing Program's Visiting Hugo Writer, will read her poetry at 7:00 p.m. Friday, February 26, in the Turner Hall Dell Brown Room. The event, which is part of the Spring 2016 Reading Series, is free and open to the public. For more information, call Karin at 243-5267.

The
Missoula Symphony Orchestra and Chorale, featuring guest conductor
Thomas Heuser and guest soloists
Christina Pier and
Charles Robert Stephens, present the
German Requiem by
Brahms, February 27 at 7:30 p.m. and February 28 at 3:00 p.m. at the UM Dennison Theatre. Visit
here or call 721-3194.

On Sunday, February 28, the
Missoula Community Chorus is hosting their
11th Annual "Missoula Uncorked" fundraiser. This year's
"Red Carpet Gala" will feature a live telecast of the 88th Annual Academy Awards at the Thomas Meagher Bar in downtown Missoula. This interactive awards experience includes an opportunity for guests to win prizes by correctly guessing the Oscar award-winners! Visit
here or stop by the Thomas Meagher Bar to purchase tickets and learn more about the event.

The
Missoula Historic Preservation Commission is seeking nominations for the
2016 Missoula Historic Preservation Awards. Nominations are due by March 4. The 24th Annual Missoula Historic Preservation Awards will be judged by the Missoula Historic Preservation Commission, with the individuals and groups honored at a public, catered awards event during May, National Historic Preservation Month. Projects must have been completed in 2013, 2014 or 2015. Nomination Forms can be downloaded from the City's Historic Preservation
webpage. Nomination forms can also be obtained by contacting the Historic Preservation Office, or e-mailing a
request
here.

Writing at Work, a conference hosted by the
University of Montana Creative Writing Program, is slated for Friday, March 11. The conference, which connects UM students with successful, creative professionals who use their liberal arts education in their working lives, will be held from noon to 5 p.m., in the University Center Theater. It is free and open to the public. For more information call 243-5267 or email
here.

For more information about arts events in the Missoula area, visit
our website

Elsewhere in Montana and the Region...

The
Carbon County Arts Guild of
Red Lodge presents the
All Artist Exhibition, new work from some of its 200 member artists, in the Main and North Galleries, through February. This exhibit will feature artwork never seen before from many Guild artists. Most mediums will be represented along with a variety of styles and subject matter. The All Artist Exhibit is a great way to get to know a new artist or explore a different media and is also a wonderful way for everyone to see what is happening in the world of art. The exhibit is free and open to everyone during normal Arts Guild hours. The Carbon County Arts Guild and Depot Gallery is located at 11 West 8th Street, Red Lodge, Montana. Hours are Monday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. -5:00 p.m. and Sunday noon-5:00 p.m.
For more information, call the Guild in Red Lodge at 446-1370.

The Bitterroot Performing Arts Council, a premier Western Montana performing arts presenting organization, seeks qualified candidates for the leadership role of Executive Director. For more details, visit here.

Grizzly Claw Trading Co. in
Seeley Lake presents Livingston author
Scott Mcmillion reading from and signing his book
Mark of the Grizzly, February 20 at 7:00 p.m. This is an updated version of his award-winning book published in 1998. Open Book club is free and open to all. For more information call 754-0034

The
Yellowstone Art Museum in
Billings presents a Film Screening of Art and Craft, Friday, February 26, at 7:00 p.m. in the Babcock Theater. $6 admission, free for members; attendees will also receive a free pass to visit the YAM with their paid ticket at the Babcock. The
Art Auction 48 event occurs on Saturday, March 5. Visit
here for more.

The
Emerson Center for the Arts & Culture in
Bozeman presents
Above the Fruited Plains by
Dwayne Wilcox, in the Jessie Wilber Gallery; and
New Works by
Ben Pease in the Lobby Gallery. Both exhibits run through April 29

For complete information about arts and entertainment throughout the region, visit
www.livelytimes.com

Nationally...

An Arts Revolution Is Transforming Small CitiesThe Atlantic, Feb 11, 2016 When news broke late last year of a mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, most people in the rest of the country, and even the state, probably had to search a map to figure out where the city was. I knew exactly, having grown up in the next-door town of Redlands (where the two killers lived) and having, by chance, spent a long period earlier in the year meeting and interviewing people in the unglamorous "Inland Empire" of Southern California as part of an ongoing project of reporting across America. Click here

Is Diversity Really A Funding Issue?Americans for the Arts, Feb 12, 2016 Oscar season is upon us and rather than debating who will win Best Picture or Best Actor/Actress, the debate has been how "white" the Oscars are. #oscarssowhite went viral and African American actors began to boycott. As a result, the Academy (which is 94% white) responded by making the bold move to change their composition to reflect more diversity. The Oscar issue is reflective of a much larger issue across all sectors of the arts; lack of diversity. I just returned from the annual meeting of American's for the Arts and all of their advisory councils. This issue of diversity and equity was front-and-center over the three-day meeting, as it has become a top priority for AFTA. On the Arts Education Advisory Council, on which I sit, we have worked to increase its diversity in a number of ways over the past years focusing on the gender balance, age and experience spread, and diversity of community with respect to urban and rural issues. However, as I looked around the room, the issue was apparent: race. And looking around the larger room with all the councils and the board gathered together, the issue was very similar. The first step is admitting you have a problem. The good news is that concrete steps are being taken by AFTA to begin reflecting the changing demographics of America and to help lead necessary change across the country. Click here

Why Is A Major Portland Museum Closing And Being Absorbed Into A College?Oregon ArtsWatch, Feb 07, 2016 The news that Pacific Northwest College of Art is going to close the doors of the Museum of Contemporary Craft landed on Wednesday. We posted the news as quickly as possible on ArtsWatch, but lots of questions remained.The Museum of Contemporary Craft dates back to 1937, after all, and during its life it has been an important flagship for Portland's large crafts community, especially those concerned with ceramics. More recently, it has helped make Portland part of the national and international conversation around craft and art, without losing sight of our local history. Click here

If It's So Hard To Authenticate A Rothko, Then...The Daily Beast, Feb 05, 2016 In an art market governed largely by pretense and money, does a masterpiece have any intrinsic value? That question has emerged from a civil case brought by Sotheby's chairman Domenico de Sole and his wife, Eleanore, against Ann Freedman, former president of the Knoedler Gallery, the oldest and most respected gallery in New York until it closed in 2011 amidst a massive forgery scandal. Click here

Why It's So Hard To Tell Whether Artists Are Doing Better Than They Were 15 Years AgoCreatequity, Jan 27, 2016 One hot August day last summer, my Facebook news feed suddenly blew up with frustration directed at New York Times fact-checkers, editors, and writers over the geekiest of subjects: data quality. The complaints were coming from friends of mine associated with the Future of Music Coalition, frequent commentators on policy affecting musicians in particular and creators of all kinds. These are two brands that I respect enormously - the Times website gets multiple visits from my browser a day, and FMC puts out some of the best policy analysis out there - so of course I wanted to find out what all the fuss was about. Click here

Study: New York's Arts Community Is Not As Diverse As The CityThe New York Times, Jan 28, 2016 New York City's cultural sector does not match the demographic diversity of the its population, though the sector is more diverse than arts organizations on the national level, according to a survey released on Thursday by the city's Cultural Affairs Department. By examining the staff and leadership at city-funded nonprofit cultural organizations, the de Blasio administration hoped to show its commitment to promoting and building diversity among arts institutions. "When it comes to making sure that every resident has an equal opportunity to contribute to this extraordinary cultural community, we need to lead by example," Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement. "This survey will help us find ways to foster a creative sector that opens doors for every New Yorker, regardless of their background." Click here

Internationally...

Michelangelo Had Terrible Arthritis In His Hands - And Kept On PaintingHyperallergic, Feb 09, 2016 An article published this week by the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine suggests that Michelangelo Buonaroti suffered from osteoarthritis for the last 15 years of his life. Miraculously, though the researchers claim that this was why the Renaissance master could not write his own letters toward the end of his life, it did not affect his art practice, which remained prolific up to the week of his death. Click here

Why Should Canadians Care About Supporting Canadian Culture?The Globe and Mail (Canada), Feb 12, 2016 The professional life of a cultural policy nerd is a lonely thing. No conference calls with the Governor of the Bank of Canada; no annual convention in Banff, Alta. I've been excited just to be invited to publicly discuss issues in the field on no less than two occasions in the past nine months - a sure sign, I optimistically predicted, that Canada is finally awakening to a crisis. Click here

Egyptian Police Arrest, Then Release, Country's Most Popular Young CartoonistBBC, Feb 05, 2016 An Egyptian cartoonist known for his satirical slant on political issues was briefly arrested accused of "running a website without a license". Islam Gawish was released on Monday reportedly without charge, a day after his arrest in Cairo. Opposition parties and activists had said his arrest targeted freedom of opinion and expression. There are growing concerns about human rights in Egypt as officials increasingly cut down on dissent. Gawish was arrested during a police raid on the headquarters of the Egypt News Network website, where he worked. Click here

The Massive, And Strange, New Cultural Center That Was The Kirchners' Parting Gift To ArgentinaRoads and Kingdoms, Jan 29, 2016 For millions of Argentinians, the late Nestor Kirchner, the political strongman who ruled Argentina between 2003 and 2007, was a colossus. He took on the banks, the International Monetary Fund, and George W. Bush. He was an iconoclast, so the myth goes, who dragged Argentina from the flames of its biggest economic meltdown and restored pride to a nation on its knees. The Palacio de Correos in downtown Buenos Aires is unmistakably a colossus. Built over four separate decades, between 1888 and 1928, the city's old central post office is the biggest, most beautiful example of Beaux-Arts architecture in Argentina's capital. It occupies an entire city block; a robust palace of muscular columns and marbled walls, a once gilded sorting post for correspondence arriving from the old world to the new. Click here

Once-Famous Floating Hotel To Become Phnom Penh's Center For Cambodian ArtsHyperallergic, Jan 26, 2016 Located in what was a massive floating hotel in the Kingdom of Wonder, The Boat could become a thriving center for arts and culture in Cambodia. Floating on the edge of Phnom Penh, where the Mekong meets the Tonlé Sap River, the nonprofit organization plans to focus on displaying Khmer art. Dana Langlois, future artistic director of The Boat, envisions it as "a multi-disciplinary space that is creative in every aspect - where creatives and artists can have a dedicated space to work, to engage new audiences, and deepen the conversation on art practice in the region." In order to successfully finish renovations on the abandoned building, organizers are raising money for an opening in mid-2016. Click here

Indonesia To Get Its First International Modern Art MuseumNew York Times, Jan 26, 2016 The first museum in Indonesia dedicated to international modern and contemporary art is scheduled to open in early 2017 in the capital, Jakarta. The private institution will be called the Museum MACAN, for Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Nusantara, an Indonesian term for archipelago. It is being built and financed by the Indonesian businessman and collector Haryanto Adikoesoemo. Thomas J. Berghuis, previously the curator of Chinese art at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, has been hired as director of the museum, which will join a flourishing art scene in Indonesia that includes a growing network of galleries, independent art spaces, artists' communities and events like the Jakarta Biennale and the annual ArtJog festival. Click here

The Futurist Chinese City That No One Went To Live In (Until Now)Hyperallergic, Jan 22, 2016The district of Kangbashi in Inner Mongolia, China, is famous for its emptiness. Widely labelled a ghost town, it stands as a cautionary tale of over-investment, home to grand feats of architecture and real estate that rose out of eagerness and ambition, but never received the human population of which developers dreamed. Instead, it has attracted members of the media and those curious to document its surreal streetscapes. Photographer Raphael Olivier journeyed there in October and November of last year, and over the course of five days captured the lonely silhouettes of massive, futuristic buildings with barely any people around them. Click here

ISIS Has Razed The Oldest Christian Monastery In IraqHyperallergic, Jan 21, 2016Conflict in Iraq has reduced yet another historic site to nothing more than piles of stone, with the blow delivered once more by ISIS. According to satellite images recently obtained by the Associated Press, the terrorist group has destroyed the country's oldest Christian monastery, Dair Mar Elia - also known as St. Elijah's Monastery - which it deems heretical. Located just four miles south of Mosul, the complex of buildings was built in the 6th century by Assyrian Catholic monks and was largely abandoned from the 18th century onward, until Iraqi and American troops took charge of it during and after the Iraq War. The AP, which this month had requested geospatial image provider DigitalGlobe to take photographs of the site, released those images today; analysts, comparing them to past photographs, believe that the destruction occurred between August and September of 2014. Click here

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Tom at MCC

MCC - Connecting Art, Culture and Community through Education, Advocacy and Celebration.
As the official cultural agency for Missoula, MCC provides the community with resources for the development and promotion of arts and culture, maintains Missoula's sister-city relationships with Neckargemund, Germany and Palmerston North, New Zealand and produces the annual First Night Missoula celebration on New Year's Eve. For more information, please visit our website www.missoulacultural.org.